Intel® Arria® 10 SoC FPGAs Development Kit Quick Start

Intel® Arria® 10 SoC Development Kit Board

The purpose of this page is to provide simple step-by-step instructions to follow when opening the box or using the Intel® SoC FPGA Development Kit for the first time. It helps you to start interacting with the development kit and available resources quickly.

After opening and unpacking the box, follow the instructions in the section entitled "Verify Basic Operation".

Verify Basic Operation

Install one of the DDR4 memory cards into J26 (HPS memory) and it is optional to install the second memory card into J27 (FPGA Memory) as shown in the board photo.

Ensure that the MicroSD daughtercard is mounted in J23, and that the jumpers on the SD boot card are set to the following: J3:0(left), J4:0(up) and J5:1(up).

Attach the Ethernet cable from a network that has a DHCP server to the board’s HPS Ethernet jack (HPS_P3/J5) located on the top right in the board photo. If your wired network does not have a DHCP server, then it is also possible to use an external router or gateway that is configured for DHCP.

Connect the power adapter from an A/C outlet to J36 on the board, then power on the board using the Power Switch SW5.

The HPS begins booting the Golden System Reference Design (GSRD) Linux* image. After the image is booted, the system’s LCD screen displays the target IP address that was received from the DHCP server and the message “ALTERA.COM/SOCQS”. If you do not have an available network port, or your network does not have a DHCP server, or if the system is unable to get an IP address, the LCD screen displays “No IP Obtained”. If no DHCP server is available, then follow the instructions below entitled "If there is no DHCP server available".

To see the Board Update Portal web server, open a browser, and type the target IP address into the URL field.

The Board Update Portal web server allows you to verify operation of the board and FPGA by:

Blinking LEDs on the board

Writing text messages to the LCD display

Continue with the next section "Download SoC EDS Software Development Tools" or for additional Linux* resources, browse to the rocketboards.org community portal, and select the "Start" button.

Installation and Licensing

Not all the software mentioned in the preceding section needs to be installed. The exact tools to install will depend on what you are planning to use the Intel Arria 10 SoC Development Kit for. For example, a hardware intellectual property (IP) developer will install very different tools than an application software developer working with the development kit. The following table details what should be installed based on what you plan to do.

If there is no DHCP server available

DHCP is generally a simple way to configure the IP address of the target board however there are some cases where a DHCP server might not be available on your network.

Beginning in version 17.0 of the GSRD, if a DHCP server is not found, then a link-local static address is assigned and displayed on the LCD display. This IP address will be in the range of 169.254.x.x. If this is the case, then connect to this IP address either through the local network or by directly connecting an Ethernet cable between the target board and the host computer and then continue with Step 6 shown above.

If the GSRD version is earlier than 17.0, and the main network does not provide a DHCP server, then try using an external router that is configured with a DHCP server. Reboot the target board and see if the DHCP-provided IP address is shown on the LCD display. If so, connect the host computer and then continue from Step 6 shown above.

If no DHCP server is available, then configure a local static IP address on the target board and host computer wired Ethernet port.

To configure the target board IP address, power up the board if it is not already. The board will boot up the Linux-based GSRD.

After the board is booted, if the message "No IP obtained" is displayed, connect to the serial UART console using the mini USB cable connected from the host computer to the target computer mini USB UART port. For this USB UART device to work, you need to have previously installed the FTDI USB UART device drivers that are provided and installed by the SoC EDS tools. If they have not been installed, then follow the instructions to "Download SoC EDS Software Development Tools" to install the USB UART drivers that are included and then continue from here.

After you have installed the drivers, connect to the serial console using a terminal emulator program such as PuTTY using serial mode and 115200 baud. If the host is Windows operating system (OS) then determine the COM port using the Windows Device Manager under Ports.

Once connected, hit Enter to get a Linux login prompt. Log in as root, and enter the following commands:

# ifconfig eth0 down

# ifconfig eth0 192.68.1.10 (or use another similar local IP address)

# ifconfig eth0 up

Configure your host computer Ethernet device to use an IP address on the same subnet (for example 192.168.1.11). For Windows OS, use "Network and Sharing Center", "Change Adapter Setting", and select "Properties" to enter the IP address for the wired Ethernet device TCP/IPv4.

Connect a RJ45 cable between the host computer and the target computer according to the instructions above.

Using a web browser, connect to the target IP address (in this case http://192.168.1.10).

If the target-based web server presents the web page then continue with Step 7 of the Quick Start Guide. Otherwise, proceed to Step 8.